1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cleaning tools for cleaning submerged surfaces, and more particularly, to vacuum heads for cleaning the submerged surfaces of swimming pools and spas. More specifically, the present invention relates to baffles that are attached to such vacuum heads at multiple locations, directing water flow in manners that better direct and entrain low density debris, enhancing the cleaning efficiency of the vacuum head.
2. Description of the Related Art
Summer windstorms—and breezes throughout the swimming pool season, result in the placement of leaves, dust, and other debris into the pool. Pool re-circulating filters remove the majority of small suspended materials. The same re-circulating pump is used as part of a vacuum system to remove the larger materials that are deposited on the pool bottom and sides.
A flexible hose attached to the skimmer intake at one end extends to a vacuum head at the other; upon activation of the pool pump the latter is maneuvered over the pool side and bottom surfaces to retrieve water-soaked leaves, branches, and grass—and other low density materials found resting thereon, resulting in water entrainment that carries the debris through the flexible hose for return to the pool pump. A pre-filter is usually employed at an in-line position along the flexible hose, separating out the larger particles to prevent premature fouling of the pool filter, which is designed for use in separating out the finer particles of soil and silt from the re-circulating pool water.
Commercial pool cleaning services, which typically clean between 20-40 pools a day, often employ a separate water circulation and filtering system—that does not utilize the pool pump or filters. However, the efficiency of cleaning is closely tied to the efficiency by which the vacuum head retrieves these low density materials. Possessing almost neutral buoyancy, these low density materials are easily diverted by currents resulting from the passage of the vacuum head through the water or such currents as result from the uneven suction velocity gradients caused by the vacuum head during operation.
One of the more popular vacuum heads for the commercial market is marketed under the name PROVAC® brand by Pentair Water Commercial and Aquatics (part of Pentair Water Pool and Spa, a division of Pentair, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn.). Vacuum head Model No. 214 is a 14-inch flexible vacuum head that provides a suction chamber designed to normalize the suction along the length of the head and on both lateral sides.
Vacuum head Model No. 214 also includes flexible strips that are attached to the vacuum head bottom along both front and back edges to guide debris into the suction chamber. Two different sizes of flexible strips are provided; the longer-legged strips extend a greater distance from the vacuum head bottom surface and are appropriate for collecting sand, silt, and other fine debris. Shorter-legged strips are also provided, and are intended for enhancing the pickup of leaves and other larger, low density materials.
Although the shorter-legged strips provide a larger vertical gap between the vacuum head bottom and the surface of the pool, the larger debris often-times has difficulty passing through this opening—with multiple passes frequently required. Such additional effort slows the process of cleaning, requiring professional cleaning staff to spend greater amounts of time than would otherwise be necessary if vacuum head pickup were more efficient.
This problem of debris entry is exacerbated in drier climates, where plant leaves are resistant to the passage of water. Such leaves are considerably less able to become water-soaked and flexible, making it difficult for the vacuum head to pick up such leaves in a single pass. A need exists to enhance the entrainment of leaves and other larger, low density materials in vacuum heads used to clean the bottom and side surfaces of swimming pools and spas.